Friends or Lovers
by Nemisses
Summary: When Tony finds out about Ziva's brush with death in Moroccan, he realises something. With a little help from their friends anything can happen.
1. Chapter 1

Since I thought the bombing in which Ziva was involved in was a little bit snowed under by the fact that one of the newbies turned out to be a traitor I thought I should write a little bit about it. However I also wrote a little bit of Agent Afloat in it, since I don't know how that is going to play out, it's all pure speculation. Since I don't know anything about ships, please forgive me for any mistakes I make in that department, and since I am not English I also ask you to read trough the language mistakes.

**Friends or Lovers**

**Chapter 1**

**by Nemisses**

Tony was glad to see his former teammates getting off the plane. He had called in the help of his former team because he knew he was in over his head with this particular case, so that's why he had requested the help of Gibbs. He went over to great them and was extremely happy in fact to see one team member in particular, namly Ziva. She looked tired, but he blamed that on the bumpy plane ride. He knew they had experienced some heavy weather during their trip to the SeaHawk.

In order to hide his feelings for her and the team he greeted Gibbs and McGee first before turning to Ziva, he gave her a big hug and patted her lightly on the back. She winced a little, which made him feel odd, I mean why would she do that, isn't she happy to see me. Strange, he thought.

Gibbs told Ziva and McGee to freshen up and meet him and Tony in about an hour or so in the canteen on deck 4. Gibbs walked over to Ziva and Tony saw the both of them in a heated discussion, which by the looks of it Ziva lost and Gibbs won, since she gave Gibbs a deadly glare before walking off. Gibbs turned around to face Tony "You look good, Dinozzo, life on a ship does you good, you've put on view pounds haven't you. Well, fill me in on the case" Both men were in the canteen when McGee showed up but there was no sign of Ziva anywere. " Maybe she is lost" suggested McGee.

" No, she is not, I told her to go see the ship's doctor, it was a bumpy ride overhere, and I am afraid that some of her stitches opened up." Dropping that bombshell on DiNozzo, Gibbs left the canteen to question the suspect that Tony already had in custody. DiNozzo stopped McGee from leaving the canteen, " she has stitches, McGee what is going on"

Meanwhile in the infirmary, Ziva was feeling a whole lot better know, the doctor had given her some painkillers but he had insisted on cleaning the wounds, because according to him it was better safe then sorry. Ziva thought he just did it because he was bored, and was glad he finally had something to do besides handing out a aspirin every now and then, according to the Doctor is had been a slow view couple of weeks. She was just putting on her clothes again when Gibbs appeared.

" How is she, Doc"

" She is just fine, all the stitches held, and she fit for duty again, however I did give her some painkillers which she has to take just before turning in so she can sleep the entire night instead of waking up every time she turns and the pain wakes her up, but other than that she is fine"

Gibbs looked at Ziva, " you didn't tell any of this to Tony did you"

" No, I didn't, what could he have done, nothing. He is on a boat. It wasn't like he could have done something . He would only have gotten worried"

" ship" said the Doctor, " we're on a ship" Both Gibbs and Ziva gave the Doctor a look that made him mumble a small " sorry" and he practically ran out of the infirmary after that.

" Well, he does know now. I told him I send you to see a doctor in order to get a check-up after the bumpy plane ride. "

" Oh, crap"

TBC…….soon

R&R

First I wanted to make it just a one chapter event, but I just kept on going so I decided to chop into two (or maybe more chapters)


	2. Chapter 2

When I started this story I thought of it as just a one chapter story, short but sweet but I just kept on going so I decided to split it up, because it just got to big. Since I always need to re-check any of my writing before I send it out, this is much easier for me. I will always try to correct as many language mistakes as I possibly can. Well anyway, enjoy.

**Chapter 2**

**Friends or Lovers**

" She what" yelled DiNozzo, " she got blown up, and why wasn't I informed".

McGee looked guilty, he hadn't know that Ziva hadn't told DiNozzo about her, well…ahumm little accident.

Tony was mad, he was mad at Ziva for not telling him, he was mad at the ones who had blown her up, he was mad at the fact that he could have lost the woman he loves and not even have known about it. Whoaa, back up there, DiNozzo, losing the woman you love. Tony all of a sudden realized something, he loved Ziva, the thought that he could have lost her just overwhelmed him. McGee saw his partner getting pale, and was concerned about his health " He, Tony you're oke"

Tony sat down, held his head with his hands " I could have lost her McGee, I could have lost her and she wouldn't have know how much I love her"

McGee looked rather stunned by this revelation but on the other hand he had known about their feelings long before they even admitted it to themselves, and now this. McGee sat down next to Tony, " she is still here, Tony, she can still hear those words, just tell her how you feel"

Since space was precious on the SeaHawk Gibbs made sure that he got to bunk with McGee and that Ziva and Tony had to share as well. It was not according to any rules but Gibbs figured those two needed time to talk about……. well for crying out loud breaking rule 12. Gibbs had been aware of it for some time now, and if they didn't see he would make them see. He smiled thinking about it there was a first for everything.

Tony heard a small knock on his cabin door and opened it thinking McGee would be his roommate for the duration of the investigation but instead there was Ziva standing there looking all surprised as well. Tony gestured she come in which she did hesitantly. She put her small bag on the bed, turned around and then….silence……..nothing was said between the two friends.

"Hmmm I am going to get some sleep." Ziva said.

Tony left the cabin giving Ziva her much needed privacy, he needed a walk anyway. Tony didn't quit know how to handle the situation, he knew he needed to talk to her, why didn't she tell him, why didn't she get in contact at all. He sure tried his best, but there was no getting trough at Mossad, they weren't exactly cooperative. He had tried her private number but that had been disconnected the moment she was back at Mossad. Hell, he thought she could have called, why didn't she. When he got back to the cabin he noticed from her regular breathing that she had already fallen asleep.

Tony woke up with a feeling that right here right now was the best time that he and Ziva should talk. Get it out in the open, mainly because he couldn't take one more night of not sleeping. All he had done was staring at the ceiling listing to her breathing in the bunk below. He jumped from the top bunk only to find her's empty. He looked at his watch, six o'clock, knowing her she was out running but since she didn't know her way around the ship he figured she might be in the gym, so that is were he was heading. Arriving there he saw her watching a boxing match, she wore a top and looked all sweaty but he also noticed something else. He could clearly see the injuries she sustained when the bomb had gone off in the bar. He had drilled McGee on every bit of information he had, so Tony knew it wasn't serious but she had to take care of those wounds.

" what the hell are you doing, you should take it easy, please don't tell me you went running on one of the treadmills did you"

Ziva was completely surprised by his verbal attack, and didn't even respond but just stared at him with her dark brown eyes

" Oh, yes I know about your little encounter with a bomb in Morocco, and you didn't even bother to inform me, or let alone anyone on the team, they had to find out from ZNN, and while we are on the subject why didn't you call me, mail me or whatever it is that friends do when they are no longer on a day to day bases with each other"

During the entire time Tony's voice grew louder and louder, and everyone in the Gym started to notice their or better yet Tony's rampage against Ziva. The entire time she didn't say anything, not a word, she just let him get out all of his anger, worries and fear. Finally Tony stopped,almost gasping for air after such a long monologue then he turned around and walked away.

Ziva knew he had to get that out of his system, she knew all too well that he was right, but he didn't understand why she never called him. Mossad had strict rules about keeping contact with the outside world once you were on a mission. She knew they were there for a good reason, any little mistake could mean certain death for a undercover agent and his or her team. Despite that she sneaked out a view mails to McGee every now and then but she couldn't risk them finding out. So she didn't contact any other member of the team. McGee had told her how to make her mails to him untraceable, she didn't even know what the hell she was doing but McGee had talked her trough it just before she went undercover.

**TBC………..R&R**

**AN: I've tried to do what you suggested Torra Jhed. It won't be perfect, but I've made a first start. Thanks.**


	3. Chapter 3

Finally chapter 3. I am sorry it took this long, but I got stuck a little. First 2 chapters went like a breeze but this one took a lot longer. FHM is a magazine, however I do not know if I have the name correct, but I think you all know what I mean.

**Chapter 3**

**Friends or Lovers**

Ziva had walked back with a heavy heart, she should face him, they needed to get this out in the open. She took a deep breath and stepped into their shared cabin. Tony was sitting at his desk, trying to look extremely busy, but Ziva wasn't buying it.

" Did it help"

" what did"

" yelling at me"

" Nope".

Tony slowly shifted his chair so he faced Ziva who now stood with her back against the door looking at her feet like if they were the most interesting things on the face of the planet. Tony stood up, walked over to Ziva and took her in his arms, and although she smelled of sweat he thought she smelled like morning dew. He would never let her leave him again, he would made sure they were inseparable.

" Me yelling at you was me getting the fear of losing you out of my system"

" I know" said a mumbling Ziva in Tony's shirt. " I should have told you, but we are not allowed to keep contact with anyone once we are out there. The only reason I could keep in contact with McGee was the fact he told me what to do so they couldn't trace the mails back to me or my team. I couldn't risk it. Even the mails to McGee were way out of line, if Mossad would have found out.

Not even the fact that I am the daughter of the director would have saved me"

Tony decided it was now or never, if he didn't say anything right now he would never again find the courage to do so. " I Love you, I've loved you from the moment you pulled out that FHM magazine and told me you liked what they did on page 54. No woman has ever talked to me the way you did that day, but then again no woman has ever talked to me the way that you do period"

Ziva smilled, she still had her face buried in Tony's shirt but she smiled none the less. " I really would like to try what they wrote on page 54, I would love to try that once"

" Gibbs is going to kill us, remember rule number 12 Never-Date- A- Co-worker" Tony could feel several head slaps coming his way if Gibbs were ever to find out about them.

" Technically we're not dating, we're just in love with each other, we've never dated so far, so we didn't break his precious rule" Tony looked at Ziva with big eyes, " did you just say you love me" He just couldn't believe his ears, Ziva just told him she loved him. She nodded "from the moment you started following me, the hotel, the swimming pole, the coffee we shared outside the hotel. I just I had found my soulmate"

Tony knew he had to ask her one more thing. " Why didn't you want to leave Israel."

Ziva looked into his eyes " My father, I was just beginning to get to know him again, it's…..we…….…haven't been getting along all that well in the past view years and we've just recently begun to communicate a little. When he heard I was wounded in the blast he called straight away, he never does that, or at least he has never done that before." Ziva thought back at the moment she had her father on the line in the hospital, she was so surprised that she forgot to speak, her mouth had opened and closed but nothing had come out. Her father had to yell at her several times before she even responded to him saying she was fine and aloud to leave the following day. She still shook her head in astonishment at her father's sudden turn around.

" Were you injured badly, how long did you stay in hospital"

" I needed a view stitches in my back, and they held me overnight because I had a mild concussion"

Tony turned Ziva around and started pulling at her shirt. " What are you doing"

"I need to see"

Ziva pushed away his arms " hold on, if you just wait I'll show you in a minute. I have to change out of these clothes anyway"

Ziva took a quick shower, changed into some fresh new clothes en walked back to the cabin where Tony was waiting. When she arrived back she was immediately taken by Tony and lead to the bridge. " Gibbs called, he said to know who it is. He followed him on to plane that is about to leave"

Tony knew from the tone of voice that Gibbs was going to be alright when he said that the plane was authorized to leave, no in fact he was demanding that they cleared the plane for takeoff.

When Gibbs told him to pack his stuff, Tony didn't know how fast he could grab his stuff together. This turned out to be one hell of a day, the woman he loved told him she loved him, and his old boss told him to come back. Life was once again good. On the plane ride back to NCIS he sat next to Ziva

" Don't think for one moment I don't want to see those scars"

Ziva smiled devilishly " Maybe when we do what they described on page 54 you'll get to see them"

**TBC………one more chapter**

**How will Ziva's father and Gibbs react to all of this.**


	4. Chapter 4

Well here is finally chapter 4. This chapter it's Gibbs who finds out. Chapter 5 is Ziva's father finds out. 31/10 I added some lines which I think should have been in there from the start. Sorry about the delay.

**Chapter 4**

**Oh, ****Crap**

That same night that they got back from the ship they didn't even make it to Ziva's house. They stopped at Tony' s place and despite the fact that his house was cold, dark and a little bit stuffy after so many months of being left unused they made the most of it. "damm, no electricity" he muttered.

Ziva laughed at his eagerness to make her his. After some clumsy attempts to turn the electricity back on, she heard him say " Screw it". He got back into the bedroom with some candles and quickly the place was lit with the soft glow of several candles burning. He turned his gaze over to her, she had been quiet the entire time but while he was out searching for candles she made sure the bed was made. Now neither of them knew what to do next, however after a view seconds Ziva slowly made her way over to Tony's side of the bed. She grabbed his hands and intertwined them with hers. She slowly moved to the middle of the bed making Tony go down to his knees and follow her until they were both in the middle of the bed just staring at each other.

Ziva once again made the first move. She somehow seem to know how nervous Tony had become. She guided his hands to her waist and freed hers to unbutton his shirt, her hands moved all over his torso, his back not missing one inch of it. She kissed Tony on the lips, her tongue was demanding entrance and that was exactly what she got, from that moment on he took over. She had opened the door to his heart and now he was demanding hers. He let her in only to take over the entire game. He removed her sweater with such ease that it looked like he had done it so many times before. Which of course he had but only in his dreams. He didn't miss one inch of her upper body as well, making sure he touched all the sensitive places while gently removing her bra. She ever so slowly moaned and that made him even more tuned into her. He turned his attention to her cargo pants, whenever she had them on it turned him on, she made them look as sexy as hell on her. He just wanted to rip them off but couldn't because this happened to be one with a huge amount of buttons and little tiny ropes on it. His eagerness to move beyond to whatever was underneath wasn't helping either. Ziva had the solution for that, she laid back and removed the pants herself, making sure Tony got even more turned on by something as simple as removing the pants she was wearing. Just as he was about to lower himself on her, her index finger gestured the word NO. She smiled devilishly at him. "For that you need to be in the same state as I am" Tony smiled like a little kid in a candy store. " You are so right, what was I thinking" He quickly removed his pants as well. Finally they were ready to look at each other without any fabric between them.

" Oh, my God I knew you were beautiful but you are even more beutiful than I ever dreamed about" Ziva was mumbling something as well but Tony didn't understand a word she said. Mainly because it was in Hebrew and secondly she was too busy exploring his body. Tony couldn't care less he was enjoying every single moment of it. He saw her scars from the Moroccan bombing incident and knew that it must have been to close to call. He explored each single scar to the detail. Tony knew that it wouldn't have been all that much or he would have attended her funeral, but now she was here in his arms and was he going to make sure she would remember it for the rest of her life. That night magic was created, both of them were taken to a place were neither one of them had ever been. All the other encounters had been mere substitutes for what happened between them that night. Old souls once again joined. In your lifetime you hope and pray that one day you will meet the one that belongs with you and both Tony and Ziva knew from that night on they were joined for all eternity.

The following morning two phones rang out. Tony woke up with a startle and grabbed the first one that he could reach. " DiNozzo"

" Tony, he heard on the other side of the phone, what are you doing with Ziva's cellphone" Meanwhile Ziva was answering the other one " David"

" What are you doing with DiNozzo's phone David" came Gibbs's now very cranky voice, cause it was obvious to McGee and Gibbs that they had spend the night together.

Ziva and Tony looked at each other " Oh, Crap"

" We've got two dead bodies, McGee and I will go in one car, you two will go in the other, since you are already together it will save some time" Gibbs gave the address to Ziva and told them he was expecting them ASAP.

" Boss" McGee looked anxious " what are you going to do"

" About what, McGee"

" Tony and Ziva"

" Well, McGee I am going to fun with them" said Gibbs.

Meanwhile there was chaos in Tony's house. Tony had lost his head, he ran in every direction but the right one. "Trousers, where are my trousers. Ziva, we are dead, do you hear me, we are so dead."

Ziva had watched Tony´s total breakdown with great amusement. She had started to put on her clothes but came across a slight problem.

" Come on woman, we have to go to work. We are going to get our butts kicked from here to Kentucky."

" Why Kentucky"

" What"

" Why Kentucky"

" I don't know, let's go. Why the hell aren't you dressed yet"

" That's because you are wearing my clothes and I was curious when you were about to notice that the sweater you are wearing is much too small for you"

Tony somehow wiggled his way out of her sweater again and managed to put one of his own on. After about half a hour both of them were refreshed and on their way to see Gibbs at the crime sence.

" Do you think it's a good idea to bring him his favorite coffee"  
" Wouldn't hurt, besides I need some breakfast anyway"

" How can you think of eating when our world is about to turn up side down"

" I thought I already did that too your world last night"

Tony smiled remembering their incredible night together, all of a sudden he calmed down. He would face Gibbs, he would stand up to him and his stupid rules. The hell with rule 12, and if all fails he knew he could outrun Gibbs. He could couldn't he.

**TBC…………chapter 5 **


	5. Chapter 5

I am sorry that it took me this long to write chapter 5, I can make up all kinds of excuses but (working) live just got in the way. Sorry about that, and the other thing was, I just didn't know what to do with Eli David. We have heard a lot about him, but we never really met the guy, other then a small part in Last Man Standing. Anyway I hope I do him justice. Once again I apologize for any translation errors, He I am not English. Have fun.

**Friends or Lovers**

**Chapter 5**

In the weeks that followed Tony and Ziva were at Gibb's mercy. He did have his way with them, every single errand he could think of he made them do it, one day he had Ziva doing the most ridiculous errands the next day it was Tony turn to run around town.

" that's it, he just gave his last order, I am going to kill him. He made me go to another lab in order to get a second opinion in a case that's not even ours. If Abby hears that Gibbs has her work checked by an outside lab, she will kill him before I do" Tony looked up at Ziva who had the most angelic smile on her face. " but of course all that doesn't matter because I love running around town in order to solve any crime that comes across any NCIS desk"

Slap. Gibbs walked by Tony. " you better"

Later that morning Tony was interviewing a man in interrogation room 3 when Gibbs entered the room where Ziva was watching the interview from. " Do you not think it has gone on long enough. You have made your point" She turned and faced him. " I haven't even begun yet" Ziva schrugged her shoulders turned around and started to walk out of the observation booth.

" the heart does what the heart wants, not you or anyone else in the world can stop that"

" Does he really love you, and do you really love him. If he hurts you I'll make him pay"

" I love him with my body, heart and soul and I know he feels the same about me. Tony knows you'll hurt him if he screws this up, trust me he is all too aware of that"

" Alright, but I do not want any affection shown in the workplace, during work hours it's strictly business." Ziva walked over to Gibbs and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. " strictly business….she hesitated ….Dad" and with that she practically ran out the door before he could respond to that.

Since Ziva was running late because the witness she and McGee were talking to wasn't exactly the the brightest star in the world, she called Tony to tell him that she would meet him at her apartment. He told her he would get diner started , when Tony opened Ziva's front door he hesitated something wasn't right. " Good evening, special agent Anthony DiNozzo" A thick accented voice rang through Ziva's living room. Tony dropped his grocery's and tried to reach for his gun, but before he could even react he felt the nozzle of a gun pressed in his neck. " Now, now, that is not the kind of welcome I would expect from someone who has been sleeping with my daughter" Slowly out of the darkness of the living room a man came walking up. He gestured to the man who had a gun in Tony's neck to leave the apartment. He talked to the man in short brisk Hebrew sentences and only then the man left the hallway. He closed Ziva's front door and from what Tony could tell stood guard at her front door.

"I am sorry for this kind of intrusion, but I don't think my daughter would invite me over for diner otherwise, we do not get along all that well, ahh where are my manners. I am Eli David, Ziva's father."

The man who had introduced himself as Ziva's father extended his hand and Tony shook it for lack of anything better to do. He was still too surprised by the whole thing. Eli David grabbed Tony's grocery's and walked to the kitchen, he didn't even bother to switch the light on he just did it in the dark. How did he know where to go was Tony's initial reaction. Ziva never bothered with the light as well, she did most of her things in the dark and now here was her father doing the exact same thing. Did all assassins do this. Tony shook his head and switched several lights on so he could see what he was doing but most of all he could get a good look at his future father- in-law.

The man had the same dark look that Ziva had, a somewhat olive coloured skin, dark hair and eyes that seem to look right through you. Yes, she defiantly was her father's daughter alright. " So, what are you planning to cook, Anthony" Eli David stood in the kitchen like he owned the place.

" Tony, you can call me Tony, well I thought I would make some Italian dish, the one Ziva's likes a lot"

Tony felt like he was in a episode of the Sopranos, one mistake would cost him his live. He swallowed, alright might as well get it over with.

Ziva made her way up to her apartment when she saw Afrem standing there in front of her door. She immediately knew her father was in her house………..together with Tony. Ziva came to a stop in front of Afrem

" _He's inside" _Ziva looked at Afrem's face.

"_Yes" _

" _You could have warned me you know" _

" _Yes, I could have Ziva, but that would not have been so much fun now would it" _

Afrem was grinning from ear to ear. They had know each other for a long time, Ziva had played many pranks on him, and he on her. This was just one of those paybacks. Afrem was having trouble hiding his laughter. Ziva took a deep breath and headed inside. She was at a total loss when she saw her father and Tony together in the kitchen cooking. She hung up her coat and walked towards Tony.

" He, sweetcheeks you finally made it" Tony kissed her on the cheeks. " Look who's coming to dinner" Ziva kissed Tony back while she kept a eye on her father.

" _Abba, what made you come here" _Ziva switched to Hebrew because she didn't want Tony to hear her conversation with her father.

" _Can a father not visit his daughter every once in a while"_

" _You never visited me before"_

" _You've never been this serious with a man before, so I wanted to get to know him, I wanted to know who has swept my daughter of her feet" _

Tony felt Ziva tense up the moment she had confronted her father. The temperature in the room had dropped 5 degrees the moment Ziva had started speaking to her father.

" The table has already been set, let's eat" Tony tried to lighten the mood, but Ziva and her father appeared to be in a staring each other to death contest. Tony grabbed Ziva and practically shoved her to dinner table. Eli David followed in silence, during the meal there wasn't much talking going on, but at one point Tony noticed that Ziva was relaxing more and more. Tony didn't know if that was because of the good food or the large amounts of alcohol she was consuming.

**Maybe one or two more chapter will follow. **


End file.
